Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Idle competition

Yesterday was a federal holiday and also a day of rest much needed in our household. The little guy’s third birthday on Sunday was by and large a happy and successful event, upon which I will expand a bit more on Thursday (as is my wont), but for all that, it still required some physical preparation and mental girding which left both me and my wife feeling drained come Monday. Fortunately we had at least had the foresight to keep Monday free of plans so that we could remain relatively inactive for the duration.

As luck would have it there was an Orioles/Yankees day game scheduled for yesterday afternoon. It was a rare Monday which both my wife and I had off from work, so we were both theoretically free to watch it, and it also as previously noted was to take place on a day when our energies would be at low ebb, and thus the usual inflamed passions of our professional sports fandom rivalry would not flare up too hotly or brightly. My wife nonetheless tried to get a little bit of a rise out of me first thing in the morning by dressing our daughter in an official O’s onesie of brightest Baltimore orange, but my primary reaction to that sight was “awww, she looks cute.” Then the game started and quickly turned into a showcase of offenses and embarrassment to both pitching staffs. My wife fell asleep in the early innings and took a well-deserved nap. I alternated between watching the game and puttering around the house (mostly cleaning up and doing laundry) but at least sat down to see the Yankees end the game on the winning side, 11 – 10, by barely staving off a ninth inning rally. The post-game repercussions under our roof were minimal.

So as we officially head into the post-Labor Day homestretch of the major league baseball season and are very nearly only two days away from the kickoff of the next NFL campaign, things at the moment are on a fairly even keel. Of course the Yanks and O’s have to play each other again tonight and tomorrow and the day after, so there might be some late-developing bitterness (and it could very well come from either side of the Great AL East Divide). For now, though, peace is at hand.